


It'd Be An Awfully Empty Galaxy Without You

by elfgirl931



Series: Elina Shepard [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-10 07:16:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2015949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfgirl931/pseuds/elfgirl931
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garrus and Elina Shepard, big and small moments in their lives spanning through all three games.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just Let Me In

      Garrus hummed a little in anticipation as he stepped out of the elevator to Shepard’s cabin. He hadn’t seen her all day, and it would feel good to wind down a little - spirits knew they both needed it. Just before he opened the door, he heard a muffled scream from inside the cabin, followed by a loud crash. He drew his sidearm and slammed the door button - the few seconds that it took to open were agonizing.

       He scanned the room immediately for intruders, but all he saw was Shepard, standing by her desk with her fists clenched. A haphazard pile of datapads, paperwork, and even a few of her model ships lay scattered across the floor. Garrus put his weapon away and put his hands on her shoulders, noting her tightened features and heavy breathing while his visor indicated her elevated heart rate. “Shepard, what happened?” he asked, concern creeping into his subvocals.

       “Nothing,” she snapped, pulling away from him. “Nothing. I just didn’t want you to see me like this.” She knelt to the floor and starting picking up papers, but Garrus could see that her hands were still shaking. Silently he helped her stack everything back on her desk and pick up her overturned chair. Before he could ask Shepard any more questions, she walked down towards her bed and sat on it. He moved to join her but she was up again, pulling at her short hair and walking back and forth across the floor.

        “Garrus, I’m sorry,” she finally said after a few moments of pacing. “I just… it’s hard for me to take all this. Everything’s so fucked up,” she said with unexpected vehemence. “I feel like no matter what I do, the Reapers and Cerberus are one step ahead of me, and everyone’s looking to me like I’m going to pull something amazing out of my ass. I’m supposed to be their Commander - ” Shepard stopped abruptly and rubbed her hands over her face. She held still for a moment and then squared her shoulders, looking straight ahead. “Look, I’m sorry for that outburst. Forget it happened.”

      “Don’t do that,” Garrus said quietly. “Not to me.” He reached out a hand to her and she took it, suddenly unable to meet his eyes.

      “Do what?”

      “Put the shutters over your eyes. Put your Commander mask on. You don’t have to do that with me. I want to be there for you, Shepard, but you have to let me.”

      Shepard let out a deep, shuddering breath, and her entire body sagged inward. She let Garrus pull her closer until their foreheads touched, the gesture as intimate as a kiss. “Okay,” she whispered.

       “Let me be the strong one, for once. Remember, no Shepard without Vakarian, right?”

       “Damn right,” Shepard said with one of her rare smiles. “Don’t know what I’d do without you, Garrus,” she added quietly, ducking her head to nuzzle gently at his neck.

      “If it’s up to me, you won’t have to find out.”


	2. Dolor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ME3, post Tuchanka. Elina copes with Mordin's death, Garrus comforts.

      Elina sat against the wall of her cabin, legs sprawled in front of her. _I should get in bed,_ she thought dully. _Or to the bar._ The soft blue light from the fish tank bored into her eyes, signaling the beginning of a headache, and she leaned back and closed her eyes. Explosions bloomed behind her eyelids, a white tower going down in flames, and a Salarian with a sad smile looked at her through cracking glass. _Had to be me._ _Someone else might have gotten it wrong_. 

    Elina shot immediately to her feet, her biotics briefly flaring to life around her hands. “Goddammit,” she muttered, running her fingers through her hair. “Goddammit.” She paced tightly in front of her bed a few times before the door lock turned green and opened. 

   Garrus stood in the doorway for a moment before he came in. “How are you holding up, Shepard?” he asked softly.

     “I dunno, you got anything that’ll knock me out?”

    “Look, I know you’re taking this hard, but Mordin wouldn’t have wanted - ”

     “I don’t want to talk about this, Garrus,” Elina said sharply, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I can’t.”

     Garris nodded and sat down next to her, taking both of her hands in his. “I’m no expert, but I hear that the best cure for a broken heart is to let it all out. When you’re ready, I’m here.”

     Elina shut her eyes tightly and clenched her teeth before letting all her breath out. She leaned her head on Garrus’s shoulder. “Mordin was … he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t fucking deserve to go like that.”

    Garrus hands tightened over hers. “No. But he went out on his own terms. Making something right. Best any of us can hope for.”

     “Yeah. Best we can hope for.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “Hope you don’t mind me being a mess tonight.”

     He bumped his cheek against hers and then tilted his head so their temples rested together. “I’m not going anywhere.”


	3. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four things that make Elina happy. Spoiler alert, they all have to do with Garrus.

_**One: A Meeting**_  
“You nervous, Shepard?” Garrus asked as they got out of the skycar.  
       “Why would I be nervous?”  
       “Not that I’m criticizing, but you look like you’re about to jump out of a Kodiak and start shooting. You’re just meeting my father.”  
        Elina leaned against the door, pushing her hair back in frustration. “Garrus, I’m not… I’ve never exactly _gotten_ to this stage of a relationship before. I’m just not that girl who meets the parents.”  
       Garrus leaned forward until his forehead touched hers. “You _are_ that girl for me, you know.”

~

 _ **Two: A Dance**   _  
     “So exactly where and when did you have the time to learn the tango, Vakarian?”  
      Garrus looked away and muttered something about extranet classes. Elina could barely hold in the laughter that bubbled out of her when she pictured him tangoing alone around the main battery. Still, she was touched. “Not every day a guy goes out of his way to impress me like that.”  
      Turians don’t really smile, not like humans, but she’s learning to tell when he’s the happiest.

~

 ** _Three_** _ **: A Bottle of Wine**_  
       Elina _hates_ wine - it’s for pretentious rich people, in her experience, and most of it tastes like shit. But the way Garrus holds it out to her, so nervous and _earnest_ and with that godawful music playing in the background, she feels like she could drink the whole damn thing by herself.

~

 ** _Four: A Tattoo_**      
     Thick blue lines crossing her back and shoulders, a near match to the ones on his face. The placement on her shoulders reminds her of wings, and it seems fitting. Garrus saved a lot of people when he was on Omega playing Archangel, and she was one of them.


End file.
